Asian Hotpot is a popular communal eating style where everyone shares a pot of broth in the middle of the table and use it to cook vegetables, thinly cut meat, seafood and other items. Broth can be spicy or as simple as chicken broth, we often use a dashi. You will also see it called Shabu Shabu in Japanese establishments and if you have ever seen documentaries on Sumo wrestlers, you will know that Chanko Nabe is something similar that is used to feed those large powerful men.
Making Shabu Shabu at Home
Hotpot can be something both very fun and nutritious to do with family and friends. Think of it like Fondu but without hot oil or cheese dripping on you which was the one thing that made Fondu not so fun for me. We have done hotpot ourselves as well as with family and friends many times over the year and we have built up quite a bit of equipment.
So let me share the series of items you can order directly from Amazon and be ready for having a shabu shabu party right away.
Heating
When we first started doing hot pot we got these little portable butane cookers. I didn’t like them for a variety of reasons. One, I didn’t like having an open flame in the middle of our dining room. Two, I hated running out of butane in the middle of dinner and having to move every thing around to change it. And three, storing everything because kinda difficult since you are talking about storing gas and your burner, possibly in your house.
Instead, I ended up getting a portable induction cooktop.
- Duxtop Induction Cooktop uses 120V 15 amp electrical outlet - standard in all North American homes; lightweight and compact for easy handling and storage.
- Digital control panel. Built-in count-down digital timer with 1 minute increments up to 170 minutes; 10 temperature range from 140 °F to 460 °F; 10 power levels from 200 to 1800 Watts.
- With no open flame or heating element, food does not burn-on the glass cooktop so this induction burner is easy to clean—just wipe with a damp towel. Durable 7-blade fan rapidly dissipates heat to ensure a longer product life.
- The auto-pan detection will shut the unit automatically after 60 seconds if no cookware is detected; equipped with diagnostic error message system, low and high voltage warning system; ETL approved.
- Note: In order to use this and any other induction stove, you need to use cookware with a magnetic bottom, whose diameter is at least 5 inches. 2-year manufacturers warranty, as well as customer servi
Prices pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:
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Like the one above thay range between $50 all the way up to hundreds of dollars. And if you already have an induction range at home, the pots and pans will work just fine on them. I have even used them at holiday time to prepare things when there is no room in the kitchen.
The Pot
You have two choices for cooking hot pot. Most inexpensive pots are separated down the middle so you can have two different broths.
- Size: 30cm - 12 inches, 32cm - 12.6 inches, 34cm - 13.4 inches
Prices pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
I tend to do only one broth so I don’t particularly like these and they are kinda cheaply built which means they pop when they are being heated. Instead I like this high quality one from Duxtop, the same maker as the portable induction cooker. It is heavier so can be used for more than just hotpot. A heavier pot will maintain heat better and the heavy duty glass lid is great while you are letting things cook or heating them up to begin with.
- FOOD GRADE STAINLESS STEEL & EVEN HEATING: Duxtop stainless steel pot is made of premium food grade 18/10 stainless steel, which maintains the flavor of the food. Heavy gauge impacted-bonded aluminum encapsulated bottom ensures quick, even heating and eliminates hot spots.
- EASY CLEANUP & HANDLE: This Duxtop kitchen pot features wider mouth than normal stockpot, for easy stirring and braising. The induction pot features a classic straight-sided and drip-free pouring design, which makes for easier cleanup. Clear tempered glass lid is good for having a peek without releasing heat and steam. The wide and stay-cool handles allow for comfortable handling during cooking.
- STURDY & BUILT TO LAST A LIFETIME: As the stainless steel stock pot with heavy bottom is manufactured of thick 18/10 stainless steel, it is much heavy and solid. The double rivets secure firmly to the pot—safe and durable. This solid steel pot is used by most home cooks and professional chefs in commercial kitchens.
- FUNCTIONAL: The 5.7 quart pot serves well for preparing stocks, soups, stews, chili, pasta and hot pot. Its also great for cooking lobster, crab and more, and as well as used as deep fryers. With its sparkling and silver appearance and aura of quality, you’ll have no hesitation using this cooking pot with lid for serving at either the kitchen or dining room tab
Utensils
One of the interesting ways hot pot works is with the various utensils. Little baskets are used to cook meat. Some of them will hook onto the edge of your pot so it can sit and cook in the broth.
- Durable to use: the hotpot soup ladle spoons are made of quality 304 stainless steel with a brushed finish, dishwasher safe, durable, rustproof and safe to use
A set of these I found decent for up to 4 people assuming they get shared. The slotted ones allow you to cook and drain, the others for ladling broth into your bowl.
- 🟢TOP QUALITY: Our 4 pcs kitchen cooking tongs are 10 inches long and are constructed with food grade thick stainless steel, sturdy, heat resistance, anti-rust, anti-corrosion, light weight, easy to handle, like new forever. Available in 4 colors, perfect for basic kitchen tasks, whether indoor or outdoor use.
- 🔵ENGINEERING FOR SAFETY: Updated new design pattern for the handle, ergonomic anti-scalding handle, ensures good grip and control, never worry about burning your fingers! The stainless-steel edge of the kitchen grill tongs is rounded and smooth without hurting your hands, making it safer to use. Keeps hands safe and foods secure.
- 🟠STRONG GRIP: Our serving tongs grip, flip, move, and jostle foods with great precision. These cooking kitchen tongs feature serrated metal tong heads, easy to handle and provide good grip. Safe and comfortable grip, even if that food is heavy, the cooking tongs can easily hold it.
- 🟡EASY TO STORE: Lightweight and portable barbecue tongs are designed with a hanging ring at the end, easy to hang up and store to save space. Easy to clean and the convenient for air-drying, dishwasher safe.
- 🔴MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS: The cooking kitchen tongs are work well for cooking, barbecue, griddles and of course for restaurants, gourmet cooks and other commercial use. Suitable for taking meat, vegetable, cheese, bread, salad and more. It also makes a great gift for family and frien
If you go to any Korean BBQ restaurant you will notice they all use the above tongs. What are great is they allow for picking up and moving small pieces of beef, pork or seafood but still allows you to pick up large amounts of vegetables.
Bowls
- TRADITIONAL JAPANESE POTTERY: Cancel that trip to Japan because we bring Japan to you with our beautiful ceramic! Our Asian bowl set was carefully crafted with the mastery of skilled artisans, to offer you a veritable Japanese experience.
- HIGH-QUALITY CERAMIC: Our Japanese pottery set is made with Mino ware ceramics. The famous province and its high-skilled artisans are our promises that you will enjoy top-quality products, crafted with care and dedication.
- EXQUISITE DESIGN: The hand-painted bowls come in 5 different designs, which are very popular in Japan. The bowls are painted in white and blue, with floral patterns, lines, or leaves. The traditional design is elegant and creates a warm, cozy atmosphere for you to enjoy with your loved ones.
- BEAUTIFUL PRESENT: What present would be better for Christmas or birthday than our beautiful Japanese pottery set? The beautiful design of the bowls, carefully wrapped for you in a present box, will delight the eyes of the receiver.
- VERSATILE USE: Our Japanese rice bowls are versatile and can be used with any kind of food. It has a perfect size, so you can eat your favorite cereals or enjoy your favorite soup or rice. Also, the bowls are super easy to clean, they are dishwasher and microwave sa
You can always use normal bowls but if you are going to have a whole hotpot set, then having the asian bowls for everyone to enjoy is something to like. Plus the bowls are quite pretty as well. You don’t want them to big so you can lift them in your hand to keep from making a mess.
You also need soup spoons and chopsticks to eat with. Again, I like some elegance to them:
The Food
Your local grocery store or asian super market can provide everything you need for Hotpot. For us we always get:
- Vegetables
- Cabbage
- Choi Sum
- Bok Choi
- Water Cress
- Mushrooms
- Enoki
- Seafood
- Shrimp
- Scallops
- Fish Balls
Finally we need to look at broth and condiments. You can make it easy with chicken stock but often we just use a dashi like the one below:
- Dashi, or Bonito fish soup stock, is used as a base for almost all Japanese soups, broths and stews
Dipping sauces
We also like dipping sauces. Below this is a listing of everything in this list so you can click through and put it into your shopping cart.
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